Sir Patrick Stewart And Thomas Middleditch Are Engaged In The Funniest Social Media War Ever

Actors Sir Patrick Stewart and Thomas Middleditch rose to prominence in nerd lore at different angles—the former, by playing heroes to nerds, the latter by playing a nerd who sorta kinda becomes a hero, depending on how invested you are in HBO’s Silicon Valley.

But apparently, the realm is not big enough for the both of them. Middleditch and the man who brought Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Captain Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men‘s Professor X to life are engaging in an intense—and intensely hilarious—social media war.

It all started a little over two weeks ago, when Middleditch fired this shot across P-Stew’s bow.

As you might have guessed, the two are actually good friends. In 2005, Middleditch cofounded the Improvised Shakespeare Company. Eight years later, Stewart joined the company for a special performance, and has since returned several times.